Beautifully Done

by Riley Mackenzie

  “At first I was just relieved to see it again, that she finally found someone real who could make her smile like that.” His voice was softer, he sounded embarrassed. “Sorry it took me so long to put the pieces together,” he lifted his eyes and met mine, and there may have been a thin layer of moisture that had formed, “but I finally figured it out. Turns out my dad, my real dad, wasn’t imaginary after all … it was you.”

  This time my throat closed and robbed all my ability to speak.

  “Hey, you.”

  “How is she?” Tal’s voice affected me even over the phone. Yup, I was whipped.

  “Physically fine, no pain. But she was seriously pissed when she heard she had to spend the night.”

  “That bad, huh? I spoke with King a little while ago, reassured me it was clean break. The case was smooth, textbook actually. She should be good as new in about six weeks. He technically could have discharged her, but I may have mentioned how she could use the rest. I hope you don’t mind?”

  Mind? I loved how she took over.

  “Mind, not even close. Just the opposite. I can’t thank you enough for pulling strings and taking care of her. Mag’s not exactly the easiest patient, not to mention Molly and her fifty questions. King was great. I’m gonna owe the guy a case of Napa’s finest by the time she gets released.”

  The minute we got the call from the emergency room informing us Ma broke her wrist and they were recommending surgery, Tal snapped into Dr. Pryce mode, instructing, ‘no one touches her, tell them to splint it and make her comfortable.’ An old med school friend of hers happened to be a well-known orthopedic surgeon and happened to work at HSS, the premiere Orthopedic Hospital in NYC. That was yesterday. They just served my mother breakfast in recovery; my woman didn’t mess around.

  Her breathy chuckle filled the line. “Nah, I’m sure he’s dealt with worse. It’s part of the job. But I’m glad it went well. She was really lucky. It could’ve been so much worse.”

  “No shit. King couldn’t believe she didn’t crack both her hips as well. He called her on it when he saw her bruising. She reneged on her first story and fessed up to falling down an entire flight, in the pitch black no less. I can’t believe she didn’t tell us Dad started sundowning. And to think I let her talk me out of round the clock care. Totally my fault, well, it’s no longer up for discussion. It’s done. It starts tonight. She should have known better than anyone she couldn’t handle this solo, but she’s too damn stubborn.”

  “Maggie’s not stubborn, she’s a woman in love. It’s what we do.”

  Ummph, her words hit hard and deep. I loved her for where she was going, but there was zero chance she’d ever experience this nightmare firsthand. Zero. That’s what living wills were for. But this was not the time or place for that conversation. And definitely not over the phone.

  “How’s it going there?”

  “Everything’s fine, don’t worry about us.”

  Bullshit. As far as timing goes, Mom’s accident couldn’t have been more inconvenient. Dad’s daytime nurse had the day off, so Tal volunteered to stay with him so my sisters and I could all be here. It might have only been hand surgery, but that’s how we rolled. And Charlie, Drew and Andrew didn’t exactly have the same calming touch. Somehow, Tal inherited Emma as well, since nursery school—the one you pay double for, according to my sisters—apparently ends like a month earlier than regular school. Who knew?

  “He’s been asking for Maggie, but I’ve been able to distract him. He ate a decent amount and just sat down with Emma to watch a little TV.” It sounded like she was watching two kids instead of one. Damn, this sucked.

  “I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be, where I want to be.” She was amazing. “Besides the kiddos don’t technically start until July 1st. It’s all logistics this week. Someone else can give them a pep talk and make them feel more important than they are. All they really need is the twenty-five cent tour so they can find the bathroom when they need to vomit after they learn what they’re really in for.”

  “Real nice, tough girl. Although, the whole bitch thing is kind of a turn on. Tell you what, when I get back you can practice your pep talk on me, remind me just how important I am while my mouths on-”

  “Really, Ace?” Her tone was playful. Who was she kidding—she loved it when I talked dirty. “Is your mind ever NOT in the gutter?”

  “Nope.”

  She laughed at my candor. I was honest.

  “Leave me be and go do the gentlemanly thing and grab your mom and sister’s lunch. Ooh and make it good, you’re in the city, for goodness sake. Mmm, remember Jackson Hole’s burgers?” Like mother, like son. Maybe iron deficiency was hereditary. Ha, she sounded like she was ready to salivate. Actually I was pretty sure she drooled on the phone. I couldn’t help but laugh, she was adorable. “Anyway, I’m sure they’re starved, you were all up so early.”

  “What about me? I can tell you for a fact, I’m starved. I haven’t eaten since last night.”

  “I’m hanging up, Asher.” I wished I could see her face, I swore I felt the heat of her blush through the phone. “Send Maggie my love.”

  “I will.”

  “Love you.” Click. The call dropped.

  For a guy who dreaded hospitals and whose elderly mother needed metal plates screwed into her wrist because his father’s dementia now posed a physical threat to them both, I was surprisingly relaxed. In fact, I was pretty sure I was standing in the middle of the waiting room sporting a huge grin. Tal did that for me.

  I listened to my woman and walked toward the lower east exit. First, it was a gorgeous Manhattan day, and second, there was zero chance of getting a cab at this hour. I should know, I grew up not far from here and spent more time than I cared to remember across the street. Oddly enough, I didn’t flinch when I strolled past Memorial Sloan Kettering, I must have been too focused on a work call.

  By the time I made it back, Mom was settled in a private room. “Who’s hungry?” I asked, holding more than a few plastic bags up high.

  “Yum!” Tara and Molly squealed in unison, each grabbing for a Jackson Hole bag, while Avery practically pried the sweets bags from me.

  “I love Baked by Melissa. Say you got the red velvet, say you got the red velvet.”

  Yup, too much time with her three-year-old, she was beginning to whine just like her. Or maybe it was my fault for feeding her addiction. With now empty hands and an unobstructed view, I realized Mom had company. Time to muster the fake charm.

  “It looks like you’re planning on feeding the entire hospital.” Her voice alone was like nails on a chalkboard.

  “Constance, what a surprise.” Not a good one. I turned toward Avery before she emptied the bag. “Hey, addict, try and save a few dozen for the floor nurses.” She rolled her eyes then smiled. She knew I knew what she was thinking, fat chance. I grinned back at her. Yup, addict.

  “Always the gentleman, Asher, good to see you, too.”

  Even her half ass compliment annoyed the hell out of me. I snapped my head back in her direction and saw she had her chair bellied up next to my mother’s bed, like she cared. Her glaring smile was plastered to her overly taut face. You could’ve bounced a penny off her forehead and gone diving off her lips. And I wasn’t just saying that, it was a fact. As far as I was concerned all she was doing was showing face and being nosey. Because that was Constance.

  “Although I wish I would have known earlier about your mother’s condition, I would have come right over. I’m just around the corner.”

  She fell and broke her wrist, there was no condition. And like we didn’t know where the witch lived. But I said none of that out of respect of my mother’s, albeit unexplainable, friendship with said witch.

  I walked around to the other side of the bed and kissed Mom’s silk white hair, choosing to ignore Constance. “How are you feeling Ma? Any pain?”

  “I’m fine, sweetie, stop fussing. It’s only a broken wrist. Besides, this is crazy, I was ju
st telling Constance how this is all unnecessary. I was chatting to someone else in the recovery room who just had a full knee replacement and she was going home. What a sweet woman, we exchanged numbers. She lives in Long Island too, we might try and set up our physical therapy together.” Of course she made a friend in recovery. Only my mother. She was the sweetest woman on earth and only saw the good in people. Maybe I needed to be a little more like my mother, but for some reason I couldn’t rise up for Chase’s mother. “My doctor is only making me stay … who knows why.” She looked back at Constance. “Whoever called you really shouldn’t have. I do love the orchid, truly, but you shouldn’t have gone to all this trouble.”

  “Actually, who told you Mom was here?” I interrupted out of curiosity, being that the plan was still tentative when Tal and I flew in late last night.

  “Chase, of course.” Bullshit. This woman lied with a straight face.

  “Funny, I just spoke with him. Filled him in. He was stuck in the OR all night, had no idea.” I hadn’t actually spoken to him. Okay, I lied too. But I had spoken to Lil, and Chase was in fact stuck in the OR all night.

  “I do hate the hours my son keeps. It’s too much, I worry so much about him.” Her performance wasn’t winning her an Emmy with this crowd. Even my sisters, who were more interested in ketchup versus aioli rolled their eyes. The extended Craig clan adopted Chase years ago. There was no masking Constance’s lack of motherly nurturing. She might be harmless in comparison to her dearly deceased, but she was as self-absorbed as they came.

  “No, really, who told you?” Screw it. I wanted to know.

  “Actually, when I called Chase this morning, Lili answered and informed me. She was beside herself with worry.” Now that I believed.

  “Well, as you can see, Mom’s just fine. Her family’s got her covered, but thank you for stopping by.”

  Constance flinched. Somehow she made it easy to be rude in her presence.

  “Of course. Maggie, you should rest. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call the nurse manager and tell them you’re a friend of the Coltons, they’ll take care of you.”

  Yup and there it was, the reason she was here, I called it, showing face and flaunting her shit as if her name or status still meant anything. It stopped meaning anything about the same time she had to surrender her Amex black, which was about the same time her husband robbed half of Manhattan. And that was a long time ago. Constance had yet to figure it out.

  “No, no, I’m good. Thank you.” Mom waived Constance off and looked at my sisters. “Actually, you all should get going. The babies will be getting home from school soon, you don’t want to hit rush hour.” Then she turned toward me. “And you need to get home to Talia, my poor girl. It’s too much all day by herself.”

  I could’ve sworn Constance fake coughed.

  “Ma, we’re not leaving you, so just stop. The men will figure it out. Constance, you’re more than welcome to stay for lunch, there’s plenty, but Mom needs to eat a little. Mushroom swiss, bacon cheddar, or spinach feta, Mom?” Tara was on the same page.

  “No thank you, not exactly my cuisine of choice. I’m actually late for a luncheon at The Met, in my honor. Wonderful catching up.” Constance air-kissed Mom. No joke, her cheek was a good three inches from skin. What the hell was that? She brushed at her linen lint-free skirt and then graced me with her attention. “Now Asher, could it be true, is Boston’s premiere bachelor off the market? Wait until I tell Chase, he and Lili will be thrilled. So who’s the lucky girl, Maggie, what did you say her name was, Tally?” She flipped her rock hard bob back toward Ma.

  I had zero patience for this woman. She heard exactly what my mother said. Talia was not a name you heard every day, or ever, for that matter. I got she wasn’t in the know, contrary to what she believed. Her relationship with my parents, post Dad’s diagnosis, extended to maybe two social engagements a year, and even though Lili brokered an olive branch, neither she or Chase divulged anything personal. This was a fact. And she sure as shit didn’t know about Tack. Tal and Lili argued it would be better that way, not wanting to add salt to a grieving widow’s wounds. They gave her too much sympathy. Chase and I didn’t give a fuck. Hell, Chase hadn’t even met his brother yet.

  As for my family, they met Tack at our last Hampton Saturday get together and took to him instantly. No shock there. Also no shock was my mother and sisters’ facial expressions when he walked in the door—they weren’t blind, recognizing the resemblance as quickly as I did. But they respected Tal’s privacy and kept quiet, knowing we’d share in time. So bottom line, Constance feigned ignorance. Why, I didn’t exactly understand.

  “I said Talia, Constance. Talia Talia, the kids’ Talia, our Talia.” I loved my mother. Even in her little hospital gown and bright yellow cast, she was a force to be reckoned with. But why she entertained this nonsense was beyond me. “She moved to Boston to be with Asher, she works with Chasey at the hospital.”

  “I wondered what happened to her. Sweet of my son to give her a job, I’m sure she’s a very competent secretary. From my memory, she was a pretty girl. I’m sure you make an attractive couple.”

  From her memory … she was her daughter’s best friend. I had an urge to smack the smug look right off her face. Obviously I refrained, but I had a maximum of five minutes of tolerance for this woman and she exceeded that about five minutes ago.

  “She’s a doctor.” If looks could kill, there were probably handcuffs in my future.

  “Interesting. The criteria for med schools are just not what they used to be.”

  My blood pressure rose, I was sure of it. She had to be kidding me. I consciously decided to zone her out, unfortunately she kept jabbering.

  “But don’t worry, I’ve heard wonderful things about your orthopedist. My friends on the board assured me that he was heavily recruited. King has a great reputation...”

  “I wasn’t concerned, our Talia made all the arrangements. She trusts him, that was good enough for me.” Seventy-two and spot on, go Ma.

  “Well, he’s the best, she chose well, I’ll give her that. Must have been a California connection. Well, I hate to cut our visit short, but it’s tactless to be more than an hour late to your own lunch. Feel good. Girls, Asher. Ta-Ta.” She air kissed the room and small waved this time. Then poof, the wicked witch was gone.

  I silently stewed; the wake of her shit-storm was not sitting right. At all. I knew she was rude, self-absorbed and for all intents and purposes completely heartless, but what the fuck was that?

  Molly broke the silence, “Ma, you really need new friends.” Tara and Avery didn’t bother commenting because nothing else needed to be said.

  “I’ve got to go.” I was abrupt, but I couldn’t help it. “Business.”

  “Okay, sweetheart. Go, go.”

  I looked at my sisters, who looked at each other and mimicked our mother.

  “Go.”

  “Go, we’re good.”

  “We’ve got this.”

  They knew I wouldn’t bail without a good reason.

  A round of kisses later and I was in a taxi. Screw walking, no time. First I called Tal to make sure the evening nurse got there early to give her a break, and then I dialed Chase.

  “How’s Mags? Lil told me. Why the hell didn’t you page me?”

  “She’s okay—ORIF or some shit like that, came through like a champ, already bitching to get home. Dad not so much, looking at twenty-four-seven care now. Sorry, it all went down pretty fast. Tal had a connection, all good.” I gave the bullets.

  “Sure, you’ve got an MD with shaved legs in your bed, you don’t need me.” I could tell he was relieved about Maggie by his attempt at humor, but I wasn’t feeling it. And he sensed it. “Ash, talk to me, what’s up?”

  “I need you to go to my office.”

  “Just finished rounding. Can be there in fifteen.” Just as I expected, no questions asked.

  “Suzie’s waiting. Call me when you get there.”
/>   “No problem.”

  I ended the call and stared out the window lost in thought with Central Park filling the glass square. My jaw was tight, my spine tense. This had to be a sick fucking joke.

  The bang of the brass against the mahogany door got louder with each knock. The doorman announced me three minutes before. I went with my gut and called bullshit on the lunch in her honor. I knew she’d be home. I banged harder.

  “Asher, twice in one day, to what do I owe this pleasure? Please say it’s not Maggie?”

  “Wow. Done with lunch already, guess there wasn’t much to say about you, huh?” Her eyes widened and her brow twitched. Not sure how it was possible with all the Botox she had injected, but her own semi-flaccid facial muscles betrayed her. “I’m not going to stand in the doorway and exchange meaningless pleasantries. I’m obviously here for a reason. You gonna let me in?” I left my gentleman back at the hospital; actually he was pretty much gone the moment I first laid eyes on her.

  “You know you’re welcome in my home,” she said through a clenched jaw, ignoring my accusation and solidifying my gut feeling.

  I opened the door wider and stepped inside. She waved her pointy finger in the direction of the library. I strode through the open door— no surprise it was much the same from the last time I was here. Elaborately framed pictures cluttered the dark wood bookcases. Different was I only spotted two of Kimi. Two, of her only daughter. But then again, what purpose did Kimi serve other than a reminder of her failings as a mother?

  “You mean Chase’s home, right?” My voice was steady and calm.

  “Excuse me?”

  “I’m a stickler for the details, can’t help it. It’s in my nature.” I rested a hand on the fireplace mantel and turned around to meet her beady stare.

  “Asher Craig, you better get to your point and quickly. I’ve had a very long day and I’m exhausted. I have no time for your games. Your mother would be appalled at your manners right now.”

  “First, don’t mention my mother, and second, how long?”

  Constance’s already frozen face cracked with my question. Fitting for the ice queen.